Canada accused of 'treachery' for failing to speak for death row inmate

DEER LODGE, Mon. – Lawyers for convicted double killer Ronald Smith are accusing the Canadian government of reneging on an offer to speak on his behalf at a hearing in Montana to determine whether he will get the death penalty or clemency.

The Harper government offered only tepid support for Smith’s plea for clemency with its initial response and made it clear there would be no one making a presentation at the hearing in Montana on Wednesday.

But Smith’s lawyers were excited on Monday when they received news that Marie-Eve Lamy, a consul at the Canadian Consulate General in Denver,